Innnnteresting! (Yes, Highlander again.)

[sholio]

I'm watching the rough cut of the Horsemen episodes with the commentary, and the cut Greece flashback actually adds a whole lot of insight into Methos in the second episode. (Though the commentary is right: the scene is super-cheesy, and it's not a bad thing for the episode that it was cut. XD) Actually, even more than the flashback itself, the other cuts that had to be made around it caused a cascade of small changes that reverberate through the episode. The cut bit right before the flashback, when Kronos tells Methos that the submarine base is Methos's whole world now, and Kronos will kill Cassandra if he tries to leave ... I kinda wish we hadn't lost that. It makes the following sequence in the aired episode, where Kronos starts telling Methos how kidnapping Cassandra was Methos's idea all along, very painful -- because we've just seen exactly how much Methos is struggling here, and how Kronos is using his emotions to control him. It makes it pretty obvious that this isn't Methos's master plan, that from here on out he's as much a prisoner as Cassandra is, and he's simply improvising in an attempt to survive. That little "yes, that was my plan all along" nod isn't really at all ambiguous in the original version: it's Methos appeasing Kronos, surviving, letting Kronos shape his reality while he looks for a way to turn the situation to his advantage.

There's another little cut bit in the Methos-and-Cassandra-in-the-cage scene, too, that relates to that theme, where Cassandra tells Methos that Kronos only has power over him because Methos lets him, "just like always".

It also puts a bit of a different spin on the scene at the end, where Duncan's not asking Methos why he didn't kill Kronos now, but 2000 years ago. (Well, and probably also now, to some extent. But mostly it's Greece he seems to be talking about.)

It all just ... well, like they said in the commentary, the cuts make Methos look a lot more ambiguous in the version of the episode that aired, than he did in the original, longer cut. It's not that there's no ambiguity in the original -- his motivations for rejoining the Horsemen are still pretty complicated. But especially towards the end, Methos's actions seem to be largely motivated by fear of Kronos more than anything else.

Comments

[scrollgirl]

Okay, clearly I need to watch the DVD extras myself instead of relying on fandom reports! Because while I knew about the flashback to Greece, I didn't know about this bit: There's another little cut bit in the Methos-and-Cassandra-in-the-cage scene, too, that relates to that theme, where Cassandra tells Methos that Kronos only has power over him because Methos lets him, "just like always".

THAT is fascinating and I love that it lets Cassandra do a bit of psychoanalysing of her own. Damn, now I really want a HL/Criminal Minds crossover, because I'd love to see the BAU's profile of the Methos-Kronos-Cassandra triad. Especially in light of what you say here: But especially towards the end, Methos's actions seem to be largely motivated by fear of Kronos more than anything else.

I enjoy the ambiguity of the final, edited episode, but I'm glad that we have the uncut version if we prefer extrapolating a less... diabolical Methos. Of course, the uncut version also implies that Methos' feelings for Kronos are much stronger and warmer than what you'd assume if he'd been plotting Kronos' death from the beginning.

[sholio]

Yeah, that's a neat bit; it's in the part where he's telling her that they have to appease Kronos in order to survive, and she's basically saying no, that's just how YOU do it.

I think the most interesting thing about the cut scenes (from a Methos-fan point of view) is that they make it really obvious that, at least according to the writers' original plan, Kronos is holding all the cards -- when he reveals Cassandra in the cage, he's scored a direct hit and completely blown Methos's plans to hell. I like the final, ambiguous version as well, but I also like it this way because not only is it a more sympathetic view of Methos, but it's a version of Methos who thinks on his feet a lot more -- not a master strategist moving chess pieces, but a guy who's stuck in an awful situation and scrambling to think one or two steps ahead of his opponent (and often failing). He's more of an underdog here, and his struggle to regain control (both emotionally, and control of the situation) is more poignant in light of that.

It also casts a bit of a different light on the way that he stays at Cassandra's cage through the rest of the episode, except for that one part where Kronos orders him away. I'd been speculating earlier on why he was doing that (protecting her from the others; prefers her company to the Horsemen; trying to appease his guilty conscience) but here I think a big part of it is simply that he's in the same boat with her -- they're both prisoners, and he's coming step by step closer to throwing in his lot with her rather than the Horsemen. Which I think is also something of an implication in the final version, but in the uncut version it's a great deal more evident. It's also evident that the turning point in Kronos and Methos's relationship was the point when Kronos revealed that he knew about Methos going to meet Duncan (and sabotaging the bomb). At that point, Kronos took over, and any illusion of leverage or limited freedom that Methos had been nurturing up to that point evaporated.


the uncut version also implies that Methos' feelings for Kronos are much stronger and warmer than what you'd assume if he'd been plotting Kronos' death from the beginning.

Yeah; not only did he seal Kronos in the well rather than killing him, but he appears to have (it's implied) established a monastic order just to keep an eye on the well and feed the monster in it. So clearly his emotions towards Kronos are conflicted to say the least.